Rayde
One of the main four protagonists of the light novel series, Zenith: Across Worlds, she was the first introduced out of the four. Formerly known by the username, RynFire101, taken from her real name, Ryn, she changed it after encountering a virus upon start up and has been known by it and her corresponding epithets ever since her entrance into the MMORPG, Zenith: Across Worlds. She was the acting representative for Momo's Gear Shop in the First Annual Clash of the Shops. She picked Knight for her class choice and is currently level 14. Appearance Rayde is seen as a strong, teenage girl. However, out of the main four, she is also the shortest of them all, despite being the eldest. With straight black hair colored with a single red highlight on her right side, she wears it down and it is often described as messy. When she is alone, she apparently ties her hair up, although this claim has never been proven by other characters. On her left upper arm is a black tattoo of a simple rendition of her blade. She also has a snaking black dragon's tattoo around her right hand, extending up her wrist, but it is mostly unknown to the other three since, although she does not necessarily hide it from them as a secret, it is simply always covered by her gauntlet. She is mostly seen in her casual set of armor that is mostly white accented with red 'scar-shaped' markings. This is worn over dark brown leather pants, a white skirt with red bordering, and armored high knee boots. Equipment and Abilities Armor Being of the Knight class, her wardrobe is mostly composed of various suits of armor, each equipped with a unique special resistance. * Casual Set: This is the only exception to the above statement: it was designed to encompass a broad and balanced ratio of attack and defense, and is equal in its resistance to each element, defaulting it as the armor she uses in most situations. The one she is seen most in, it is a light custom-made suit of armor that is mostly white in color and stylized with, what are described as, red 'scar-shaped' markings. It consists of a high collared breastplate, shoulder guards, gauntlets, and boots. Except for the length from her elbow to her shoulder pieces, as well as her head and her legs, where she wears only leather pants and a knight's battle skirt, she is protected by the forged steel of her armor. Most of this outfit, like her hair and weapon, is asymmetric: she wears a spiked dark-gray armor piece on her right arm; she wears her belt slanted on her waist; and the shape of her collar is asymmetric in its design. * Armored Angel: This is the armor that was equipped for a short period of time in Chapter 4 via her special before Winglancer drained her bar. No fight statistics or details about the look have been released, but it is assumed that it would have had a high resistance to general attack moves without an element behind it, considering her opponent at the time. Weapons Rayde makes use of three fantasy-styled weapons, each one of them equipped with their special attributes and each with a set of pros and cons. * Restless Edge: This sword is Rayde's main weapon, crafted herself when she reached level three. It has a white grip with a stark black diamond residing at the pommel. At the center, where the rain guard is, there located is a white four-sided diamond. At the top of the hilt, the red cross guard is asymmetrical itself, longer on one side and curved slightly outward to protect against sliding blades along the sword’s length. On the other side, the guard is indented with a dark gray curved section to match the dark gray steel blade of the sword. The blade is also not symmetric, edged to a sharp and deadly point on the blade’s right side. * Blood Scabbard: The scabbard to Restless Edge, it is a hard and sturdy metal case, white and stylized with her red scar markings. It attached to her belt at the waist. When fighting, she holds at the top in the reverse grip and uses it as a weapon alongside her sword. Mostly defensive, it acts as her shield to deflect attacks, but she may use it stunning and follow up after she attacks with her sword. * Winged Thorn: Her dagger, she uses it when she is in need of faster combos, dual wielding it in her left hand with her sword in her right. It is similar to Restless Edge in look, save for the size and the small white metal blade. When she activates her special ability, she uses it as a powerful projectile. Although she has stated that she does not like to throw it far out of fear of losing it, she has resorted to this when the situation called for it, as seen in Clash of the Shops Part V II, when she threw it at the Shadow's Maiyakami to delay her progress in the race. Abilites Like other players, she has five abilities. * Melee - Void Breaker: A powerful melee combo, consisting of a left elbow to the opponent, followed by a right-handed uppercut. * Dash - Dark Rift: A rapid shift to a point nearby, in which a before-image is left in the previous position for a limited amount of time. A certain level must be achieved by the opponent before the image is revealed to be just that. * Attack - Arcane Blades: An ability that, when used, enables the user to increase his/her damage of the equipped weapon(s) for a limited time, along with a strong light emanating from the weapons, stunning nearby opponents who face the user. * Defend - Light’s Armor: A defensive ability which achieves an energy-like barrier, barring a certain amount of damage to the user when his/her weapon is in a selected position. After a certain amount of damage is dealt upon the barrier, the barrier will break. * Special - Reaper’s Counter: A special ability which allows the user to instantly equip into a matching set of armor that would better benefit the user at the occasion. The amount of damage inflicted by the user in the hundred hits required to fill his/her special meter is transferred onto his/her secondary weapon, and can be used as a projectile. Personality The most aggressive out of the four, Rayde often strikes back toward both players and NPCs. She often does not seem to care about the well-being of NPCs, as seen in Journey to Momo's, where she injures a shopkeeper with a chair, nor does she seem to care about the opinion other players hold of her. She is arguably the most playful, seen many a time pranking other players and joking around, but she does in fact observe self-constraint when the situation calls for it. Acting mature and reserved when something serious or ominous arises, she is shown to genuinely care for her friends, as evidenced in CotS Part V II: The Epilogue, when she strongly presses Shadow to open up about what had transpired during the event, later comforting her. Other moments arise when she is quick to change her attitude and instead puts on a smile and makes a joke when the somber mood seems to affect her friends. In reality, however, Rayde, as seen in CotS, Part V I, is actually very sensitive to subjects revolving around death and loss, so heavily affected that she has shown signs of something close to breaking down and crying when she is alone. History Background It is revealed that her parents often fought during her childhood. Although it seemed that she had mostly gotten used to it, the departure of her close brother to college along with the increasing degree of the fights' seriousness led her to retreat further into video games as a refuge. Retrieving Zenith: Across Worlds through her own means, she immersed herself into the MMO, enveloped and intrigued by, what she has stated, its fantasy and action elements. However, it is noted that she mostly played alone as a solo player, which may be an indication of the effect her dysfunctional family had on her. She and ZeoTamer are the only players out of the four who knew one other before the events of the light novels took place. Chronology Welcome to Zenith She, known at the time as RynFire101, was first introduced after she overheard an argument between two players in Chapter 1, challenging the female player, DarkAngel, to a duel. When she logs off to plan her strategy, she encounters a notification about a virus that has affected the game, but continues to log back in anyway. When she attempts to, however, she somehow blacks out and wakes to a blank void where she is prompted to select a new avatar with the same attributes and items, but with a new username; she was also required to revert her level, reluctantly forfeiting her level 19 for level 10. Blacking out once more, she wakes up to find herself on Mount Zenith, within the game itself. After acquainting herself with the world and the controls, she engages DarkAngel in their scheduled duel. As their battle approaches its end, however, the Beast of the area, Winglancer, arrives and effortlessly kills her opponent and engages her in battle. After a few complications, she eventually wins against the creature, but when she walks away from the scene, Shadow emerges from the mountain caves and drags her away. After they acquaint in town and share similar stories about their entrance into the game, Rayde decides to add her as a friend and, taking time to customize her armor, they leave on their first quest together. Tasked with defeating a Corrupted, they exchange attacks and support to one another automatically and rhythmically, the quest revealing how well they fight together, strengthening their friendship in the process. Clash of the Shops Trivia * Her favorite color, the one she is represented by, is red. * Her favorite fruits are cherries. * Her character song is track number two in the compilation soundtrack, Root of the King by TETRA-FANG. * She places second in the First Annual Clash of the Shops. * In the First Annual Clash of the Shops, she is the third worst in the fourth objective, eventually spending forty-six minutes and thirty seconds in all trying to deduce the riddle. * She is right-handed. * Before her entrance into the game, she used an old XboxOne controller paired with her laptop to play Zenith: Across Worlds. * She wears her casual suit of armor on most occasions, but she wore a leather shirt until she attained her breastplate after her fight with Winglancer. * She has said that her worst fear is of spiders. * Unique to her fighting style, she holds her scabbard backwards in her left hand as a defensive weapon.